At Long Last Love (1975)

A spoiled cash strapped heiress (Cybill Shepherd) hooks up with a gambler (Duilio Del Prete) while a carefree millionaire (Burt Reynolds) hooks up with her schoolgirl friend, now a Broadway musical comedy star (Madeline Kahn). But it isn't long before before they switch partners which has some unexpected results. On paper, this must have looked good. A loving homage to both the screwball comedies and musicals of the 1930s. Alas, the end result is a misguided mess. The director Peter Bogdanovich's previous attempt at resuscitating the screwball comedy WHAT'S UP DOC? didn't show a talent for the genre and he doesn't here either. The Cole Porter songs seem arbitrarily shoe horned into the plotless narrative and most of the actors are so adrift, one almost feels sorry for them. Burt Reynolds (I'm not sure if he's channeling Cary Grant or William Powell) fares the worst: he confuses smugness for charm, has no singing ability and his "dancing" is better left ignored. Shepherd's singing voice isn't bad at all but she lacks the grace and appeal of a Ginger Rogers. Del Prete's lack of command of the English language renders him unappealing. Only Madeline Kahn (who has the best number, Find Me A Primitive Man) suggests what the film might have been like if cast correctly and directed with more style. Still, kudos to Gene Allen's exquisite Art Deco production design and Bobbie Mannix's perfect period costumes. With Eileen Brennan (too abrasive), Mildred Natwick and John Hillerman.